Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Pyramidology

So, get together with an interesting group of people and you learn interesting things. Case in point: last night's D&D session, wherein we continue our unmethodical but painstaking exploration of the BARROWMAZE.* Along with news of the sad fate of the Kalakala (an old art deco ferry they've been trying to save since around the time I first moved out here) and some live-action anime casting (if that's not too much of a contradiction) I found out about the recent discovery of the causeway to the Great Pyramid. I was not aware it was missing, and that the drawings of the pyramid complex I've seen apparently contain a large degree of conjecture. Thus I was glad to learn of this find, and that it was less like a roadway and more like a ceremonial tunnel: deeply intriguing. Time I went back and resumed reading on Lehner's THE COMPLETE PYRAMIDS, which was full of photos, drawings, and maps of all the known pyramid complexes.

P.S.: while the post itself is interesting, I'd suggest steering clear of the comments, which seem to be largely dominated by invictive aimed at the former official in charge of antiquities for the Egyptian government, who apparently didn't encourage space alien theorists and thus must suffer their wrath. On a quick skim their arguments seems to me full of grassy knolls.

--John R.

current fantasy reading: THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss (whom I'm beginning to conclude has Tad Williams disease)
current Tolkien reading: THE HOBBIT AND HISTORY ed. Liedl & Reagin (some interesting stuff, but wobbly on the fact-checking)
current audiobook: FOOD: CULTURAL CULINARY HISTORY by Ken Albala (The Great Courses series)
current anime: TOKYO ESP (re-watching)
today's music: PYRAMID by The Alan Parsons Project

*Here's the link to a review of BARROWMAZE, for those interested: basically a great big old-school sprawling dungeon full of undead, which we've been exploring using the new 5th Edition rules.http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-barrowmaze.html
Of course it helps when you have Steve Winter for your DM and fellow former TSR employees making up the bulk of the players.